Newbie Dallas scribe cooks up success with ‘Light Bread’
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You’d think an ophthalmologist at Baylor University Medical Center would be too busy to crank out a novel. But after Dr. Cordell Adams’ released his literary debut "Light Bread," (Sweet Tater Pie Publishing, $12.95) in September, things only got more hectic.
The novel — set in 1960s East Texas — is based on Adams’ memories about his grandma. And the character Veola Cook, is charming readers across the U.S.
Adams still works at Baylor, and he recently returned from Washington, D.C., where he was doing booksingings. It looks like a second edition is soon hitting the presses. Adams self-published "Light Bread" and sold more than 3,000 copies within three months.
A longtime member of HRC and the Dallas Federal Club, Adams visits the West Village for a booksinging on Saturday.
Jan 24 at 2 p.m. at Borders Books & Music West Village, 3600 McKinney Ave. 214-219-0512. SweetTaterPiePublishing.com
CRAWFORD — IN PICTURES
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On Feb. 10, another Joan Crawford book comes out: "Joan Crawford: The Enduring Star," (Rizzoli, $60) by Peter Cowie. It’s mostly a handsome series of images and adds nothing new to understanding to Crawford, a Texan. Cowie only attributes one sentence to her Lone Star roots — that she was born in San Antonio to a Swedish-Irish mother and a French-Canadian father. The father left the family not long after Joan’s birth and they moved to Oklahoma.
Cowie isn’t interested in Joan’s acting — merely her onscreen image with painstaking details of her gowns in each film. He also makes errors along the way. He says "Flamingo Road" is "set somewhere in the South — Missouri or Mississippi." The story is set in Florida.
He also describes the title character of "Harriet Craig" as "apparently embittered by her inability to bear children." The truth is that she was too selfish to have the children her husband so desperately wanted.
There are a few interesting pictures little seen before — including a rare picture of Crawford with Joseph Cotten on location for "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte" before she was removed from the film. But the "Enduring Star" is only for diehard fans, who must have everything.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition January 23, 2009.